I live in St Remy and love my region. I arrange tailor made tours.
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who is also offering travel planning services.
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Thursday, February 21, 2013

A day in St Remy

If staying
or visiting St Remy for a single day, here are some ideas of what to do…..

-The
Musée Estrine (closed for complete refurbishment until Oct 2013). A museum
dedicated to contemporary artist with a large collection and a section about
Van Gogh’s life.

For old stones addicts

The Greco
Roman ruins of Glanum.
Ancestor to our actual village, the site offers you a visit back in time. Inhabited
since about the 7th Century BC …… The site was invaded by the Greek
and then the roman. Most of the Greek’s constructions where obviously destroyed
and the stone reused to built the wealthy roman city of Glanum. However you can
still find traces of them. The town was eventually abandoned around 260 after
Christ when the Alammanics invaded this part of France.

“Re” discovered
in 1921, the road, built on the site itself, was diverted in order to open the
site to visitors. A little museum at the entrance of the building explains the different
phases and models show you how the city looked like in Greek and Roman’s time.
Do not miss it since the site itself might prove hard to understand.

The site is
a jewel but a bit difficult to apprehend when visiting on your own. Guided tour
are available but in French only.

For roman
Lovers, a restaurant named Taberna Romana where you can eat Roman dishes is
located at the end of the trails. Since the owner is changing I cant give
information on the 2013 menu for the time being.

The “Antiques” refer to:

-the
Arch, entrance to the city of Glanum, showing the glory of the Roman against
the “Gaulois” (my favorite is the one where you see the strong naked Gaulois
dominated by the skinny Roman with a toga : cleverness is stronger than strength)

-The
Mauseleum of the Juliim basically a tomb/grave to the glory of a wealthy
Gaulois family turned roman. This to show how the roman where working toward
peace and integration.

The Peiroou Dam (Barrage). Not really a roman site
but the dam was rebuilt in 1891 at the place of the one built by the roman

TheVia Domitia :
A walk through the oldest road in France built in roman time. (nice spot located
close to the arch)

Other sites
are unfortunately not available to visit, such as the underground canal passing
through the village to bring water from the marshland to Arles (about 50 km
with a very little slope).

For History Lover

-The
Musée
des Alpilles is focusing on Ethnology and the creation of the Alpilles
and shows also non permanent exhibition (currently local artist’s Auguste
Gonfond illumination (enluminure as in drawings). The museum is located in a magnificent
Renaissance (XVIth Century) building on the nicest square in the heart of the
old village.

-The
visit of St Remy centre. Though its nicely redone pedestrian street, get
a map from the tourist office, lift
your head and open your eyes to come across all the marvels of St Remy, the numerous
statues of the virgin Marie, the ancient buildings, the house where Nostradamus
was born in 1503, the defence wall (step leading to the top, entrance of the
first hospital of St Remy)…….

The Wednesday
market which runs all year round is one of the most popular and largest in the
region. Local people shop there….. During the season, be sure to arrive early
in order to find a space to park your car less than 2 miles from the centre…….

Once you’ve
finished your market, the only proper place where to have a picnic is located
by the entrance of the site of Glanum where a few wooden picnic tables are
available…

There is
over 60 restaurants in St Remy… I will soon have finished with my list of my
favorite restaurants for under 20 euros at lunch….

Cooking
class : several option available (but need to be book in advance)

For “shopoolic”

Again a
wide choice, no “high street shops” but only little shop with owners in it. You
can basically find everything you want or don’t want in the St Remy shops.

Don’t forget

To have a
pastis for Aperitif under our plane tree and watch the world go by.